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A makeshift Manchester United defence did not even have to resort to hair pulls to keep out a goalshy Chelsea. The unfamiliar pairing of Ayden Heaven and Noussair Mazraoui grew into a tepid game after a shaky start, making the full-time boos inevitable. Stamford Bridge was an unhappy place again, the unrest in the stands growing as a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League approached, and the only time the home fans stopped pining for the old Chelsea was when Mason Mount came on to help United protect their 1-0 lead.
Think back to Porto in May 2021. Back then, long before anyone in west London had heard of BlueCo, it was Mount who created the winner when Chelsea became kings of Europe for the second time. Five years on, though, this is a club that cannot even be sure that they will be in the Champions League next season.
The drop in standards is stark. Chelsea did not do enough to press at United’s defensive issues and, at this rate, are at risk of being dragged into a fight for Conference League qualification. They are four points below fifth-placed Liverpool before the Merseyside derby but when Liam Rosenior looks over his shoulder he will be alarmed by a host of mid-table teams closing in on Chelsea.
Rosenior is approaching dangerous territory. Chelsea last lost four straight games without scoring in 1998 (a run that also featured a 1-0 defeat to United) and there was bitter irony in one of their players being involved in the game’s only goal. Alejandro Garnacho capped off a dreadful display against his old side by shrinking when Bruno Fernandes ran through to set up Matheus Cunha to help Michael Carrick’s side tighten their grip on third place and close on a return to the Champions League.
Casemiro, outstanding in defensive midfield as United shut up shop during the closing stages half, celebrated wildly after the final whistle. This was a fine response from Carrick after the aberration against Leeds. Kobbie Mainoo was smooth on his return in midfield and Heaven stood tall once he found his feet.
It is a sure bet that the fans who protested against Chelsea’s owners before the game will have even more to complain about after their side failed to test a threadbare United rearguard properly. Rosenior needed a result to silence the noise. This was a glaring opportunity given that United were without Lisandro Martínez, Harry Maguire and Lenny Yoro in central defence, where Mazraoui was shifted inside to partner the inexperienced Heaven, and the onus was on Chelsea to seize the initiative.
Chelsea needed to borrow from the Leeds playbook and make it physical. Liam Delap showed early intent after coming in for the injured João Pedro, forcing Heaven to stretch and concede a corner. Heaven’s positioning was off and the youngster was lucky not to be penalised for catching Cole Palmer on the edge of the area.
Yet Chelsea are in one of those spells when everything feels hard. Estêvão Willian was looking lively on the right, cutting inside to flash a shot inches wide, and seemed to have the measure of Luke Shaw. Typical, then, that the winger’s involvement was curtailed so quickly, a telltale grimace and reach for the back of the thigh after another surge past Shaw immediately followed by the hamstrung Estêvão making way for Garnacho.
The travelling fans made their feelings about the Argentinian clear. But a bigger concern than Garnacho were United’s jitters during the first 30 minutes. They were fortunate not to concede when Enzo Fernández, off the naughty step and back in midfield after questioning the Chelsea project, curled a shot just wide.
Chelsea yearned for a moment to kill the anxiety. Delap had the ball in the back of the net after Senne Lammens spilled a Fernández effort, but Palmer was offside when he collected the rebound. At the other end, meanwhile, United were slow to connect, Cunha hesitant when Bryan Mbeumo picked him out.
Cunha was more decisive with his next chance. Chelsea will always give you a chance. There will always be a moment when they switch off, and so it proved when Wesley Fofana was forced off for treatment shortly before half-time.
Short of a player in central defence, Chelsea lost their shape. There was symbolism in Garnacho putting in a powderpuff challenge on Fernandes when the United captain received the ball on the right. Garnacho showed his former teammate down the outside, bounced off him, then showed him inside. It was pathetic. Fernandes just strolled away from the winger. He sent in a low cross, Jorrel Hato missed his clearance and Cunha had time to crash a shot past Robert Sánchez.
Chelsea were booed off and it remained restless at the start of the second half. Seeking fresh impetus, Garnacho and Pedro Neto swapped flanks. Neto almost made the equaliser, crossing from the right for Delap to head against the bar.
United sat back and looked for chances to counterattack. They were wasteful with a few openings, although it took swift reflexes from Sánchez to stop Fofana deflecting a stray pass from Fernándes into his own goal.
Chelsea’s most effective route to goal was Pedro Neto’s inswinging crosses. Garnacho, though, was struggling. One of his runs ended when he just fell over. With Palmer below par, Fernández limping off before full-time and Delap still with only league goal to his name since joining last summer, Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League football were on the floor.
